The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra came to a sold-out Roy Thomson Hall on Wednesday night to show off their acclaimed sound. The result was very good, but not a knockout evening of music.

The Viennese were led by one of their regular guest conductors, Franz Welser-Most, who is also music director of the Cleveland Orchestra. His reserve and restraint dominated a program carefully chosen to show off Vienna’s rich musical history as well as the orchestra’s abilities.

Technically, the music and music-making were of the highest calibre.

There were also spectacularly beautiful moments of orchestral sound, especially in the final piece on the official program, Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, a rambunctious tone poem premiered in 1895.

The Strauss piece, representing the final 20 minutes of the concert, was the highlight of the evening, as all sections of the orchestra took flight.

The Viennese, who perform double-duty for the Vienna State Opera, are particularly admired for their golden string sound, and they didn’t disappoint. The violins, violas, cellos and even double-basses played with a remarkable clarity and light texture, especially during the evening’s second half.

That second half started with Lied (Song) a 10-year-old piece by contemporary Austrian composer Jörg Widmann that was high on concept, but lacking in excitement.

Essentially, Widmann’s piece was a series of ghostly, fade-in-fade-out collages of Old World musical glories.

It was a great way to show off this orchestra’s prodigious technique, but the patchy musical narrative didn’t make for particularly riveting listening once it was clear how the piece was built.

The opening work, Franz Schubert’s Symphony No. 6, dating from 1821, was even less satisfying.

It’s not a bad symphony, structured into four neat movements. Schubert also had a fine time making references to bel canto opera. But Welser-Most’s conducting was far too earnest for what is essentially light musical entertainment.

Also, he repeatedly got the (admittedly fine-sounding) strings to get in the way of the woodwinds’ fine melodies.

There’s no question we were in the presence of an exceptional group of musicians, but the overall unevenness of the evening’s program also served to remind me of what wonderful performers we have in our own midst all year round.